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Monday, December 28, 2009

I cannot, CANNOT believe this baby is already almost half a year old!! It feels like only yesterday we were bringing her tiny (okay, not THAT tiny) self home from the hospital and settling into a "Party of Five" routine. Five months has FLOWN by, and I am torn between wanting time to stop indefinitely and hurry up and get past the phase where I have to have plastic swings and bouncy seats in my living room.
At five months, Livi can roll from back to front and front to back, and does it every time you lay her down. She sleeps on her back, and still wears the swaddler to sleep at night. (We learned our lesson about trying to put her down without that thing on...can you say "Wake up all night long?") She lays down for the night at about eight or nine, and makes it until about five thirty in the morning. I know that's a long stretch, but it's not "all night" by my definition....we have let her cry it out once, and she made it until eight, which is MUCH better. We need to make her cry it out a few more nights in order to get into a better schedule, but personal nursing discomfort keeps me from doing so most nights. (Moms, you know what I mean!)

She makes ADORABLE noises, and loves to be talked to. She still loves me best, although I am not deluded into thinking this is for any other reason than that I am her "milk truck" as Shawn puts it. She is clearly a genius: the smartest baby that ever lived. :) She fusses when she is tired, and goes to sleep easier if the room is noisy. Turn on the vacuum and that baby is OUT in a few minutes flat. She sometimes gets so busy smiling at me that she forgets she's nursing, which is hilarious. She claws all over me while she's nursing, and "makes biscuits" (like a cat)...which sometimes makes for some painful feeding sessions. She can sit up for a few seconds on her own, and LOVES the doorway jumper and the exersaucer. (thanks, Nat!) She loves taking a bath with me rather than getting one in the sink, which works fine for us because frankly sister is too big to fit in the sink! The babies seem to like her....Cale more than Hayden. He will pile her little baby toys around her if she fusses, or cover her if she kicks her blanket off. He talks so sweetly to her when he thinks no one is listening. Hayden is another story. She either baby talks to Livi and wants to kiss on her, or tells me, "I'm going to smack her. I'm going to stomp her." which I hope doesn't indicate some kind of Manson-ian problem. I try to remember the twins are just babies, and having a newbie at home isn't easy. It's hard to remember how tiny they are because they talk so well....I forget they aren't even three yet. So far, they have been sweet to the baby (with the exception of some verbal threats) and she loves to watch what they do....the louder and crazier they are, the more interested she is.
She is about to try rice cereal, which I hope will help her make it longer at night. She pulls her little knees up under her tummy when she's laying down, and if I didn't know better, I would think she was getting ready to crawl already. I am loving this phase because she is all about interaction now, but I can't help but miss the tiny bird phase a little, too.